Chapter Text
"Can you go like this?" Leo asked quietly. Balling his fingers together and squeezing.
Mercury whimpered, frustrated tears filling her eyes.
Her hands refused to listen to her. Every tiny movement sending horrible spikes of pain through her arms. They shook violently with effort, only being able to half clench her fingers together.
"Hey- its okay don't force yourself peanut" He cooed. Helping her straighten her fingers again, rubbing the small digits until the blood flow returned. "You're doing really good Mercury,I know its tough."
Mercury pouted. She couldnt even lift her own arms let alone cross them to show her anger to the older man. She and Saturn had been lazily napping the day away together when Leo decided it was perfect time for some physical therapy.
According to Saturn she slept for a week straight. Though she couldnt remember it, it felt like she'd blinked and then it was now. Everyone on the ship was super nice to her though, and Saturn let her cling as much as she wanted!
But she was still so tired, Leo said it was probably because of the blood loss and stress. The spikes that had once pierced her skin seemed to retreat into the shackles somewhat, just small but sharp points remained. Moving too much would agitate the wounds so she had to be very careful with how she moved.
"Ok let see-" Leo readjusted his seat, having pulled a chair next to Saturns cot. Jade peaking over the edge of the top bunk to watch. Mercury liked Jade. He treated her more like a fellow solider then a little kid.
Her lower arms had been wrapped as best as they could do with the immovable objects stuck to them. Soft bunches of fabric was stuffed between the spikes to create space between it and her skin. The bleeding had stopped but her hands were struggling to circulate properly. Someone (usually Saturn) would have to massage them until the returned to the natural blue color.
"Can you feel when I do this?" He pinched the tip of Mercury's pinky finger. She shrugged. It was like when she wore thick gloves, sure you could feel it but also not really at the same time. Like the pressure but not the sensations. Saturn, who had been half asleep the majority of the exercises, rubbed her back gently.
"Why don't we continue this later?" She said somewhat sternly. Slightly annoyed that her nap was interrupted again. While she was feeling relatively better now that she was officially in her second trimester, Mercury had kept her up all night with night terrors. Though the child couldnt remember what scared her so badly.
"You know more about this then us boss, is it normal for it to be so damaging?" Another one of Saturns guards asked from farther away. Despite pretending to be doing other things, everyone was keeping a close eye on Mercury's injuries.
"No? I dont know, I've never seen ones like these before. She's not moonfallen - honestly I think its worse then that." Saturn murmured. "She was about to be executed.... I dont think those weren't meant to be long term-"
Her words brought a stillness to the room. It was agreed to not speak much of the events unless Mercury brought them up. No one wanted to stir the pot too much around her. They waited on baited breathes for any reaction from her.
Mercury either wasn't paying attention or choosing to ignore Saturns statement. Whining quietly at her Amma, asking for help moving. The shackles, like Saturns only affected the person they were attached too. Mercury didnt have the strength to move her own arm much. Better then the prior week but she still needed the assistance.
Saturn sighed, waving a hand at her pilot. Rotating Mercury so she was laying with her face against her side and pulled the blanket higher. Mercury squealed when the blanket suddenly covered her head, kicking her feet in protest.
"Oh no- I lost Mercury. Has anyone seen her?" Saturn teased but in a deadpan tone. Soft laughter spread across the room at the resulting screeching from Mercury.
-
Saturn hummed as she walked. A very sleepy Mercury resting against her shoulder.
It was the middle of the night. Mercury has gained an intense fear of the dark and with her near constant nightmares the two had been staying up later then normal. Saturn opted to pace the length of the ship as to not disturb the others.
"Amma?" Mercury asked, voice muffled and tired. Saturn responded with a soft noise, her purr doubling after, trying to soothe the child into slumber. "Whats a half breed?"
Mercury's finger flexed a bit against Saturn's arm. Her strength getting better everyday, she'd been working on moving on her own again. The go to exercise being someone lifting her arms above her head and letting her hold them up for as long as she could. It was painless and didn't make Mercury frustrated.
A deep sigh jostled the child. Saturn didn't really want to have to explain this, she knew she didn't have the answers Mercury was digging for.
"It mean someone with parents of different species. The baby inside my tummy is a half breed technically, but its a mean word and you shouldn't call people that"
"Why? He called me that..." She questioned, Saturn could tell where this was going already.
"He is a senile old fart and you should just ignore him Merc" Saturn said with a growl. "There is nothing wrong about you, your still my protostar regardless of your orgins"
"But isn't Amonei and ... him both the same?" She hadn't quite fit the pieces together in her small mind, but she was young so Saturn couldnt blame her.
"Yes, I dont know what happened between them Merc. I was already long gone by the time you came around" She said quietly, bouncing the child with every step. They had already made three rounds of the ship and her feet were starting to burn.
"Sorry..." Mercury buried her face in Saturns arm with a soft whine. She shushed her, purring louder and petting her soft hair.
"You haven't done anything wrong, are you ok trying to go to bed?"
"Mhm.."
-
Eclipse smiled and put his hands on his hips. Proud of himself.
"What do you think?" He turned to ask Mike's opinion.
"I dont care I just want this to be done already" the human groaned.
The main room of the tower now renovated to house a small kitchenette and a new loft bed and couch. As much as Eclipse loved sharing his bed with his wife and daughter, with another on the way they'd need more beds.
Another one.
It didnt even feel real yet. Saturn had been away for so long. Part of him was excited to see how she'd look with the pregnancy glow. She already looked magical before but now?
"Whyd you even want to do this, you were fine before-"
"Oh because of the baby!" Eclipse said absent mindly, busy folding the soft blankets he'd picked out specifically for Mercury. Mike choked on his drink, coughing loudly.
"Baby!?"
Oh.
Oops.
Eclipse wasnt going to tell anyone without Saturn home. He smiled sheepishly at Mike and shrugged. Maybe he could play it off.
"How!?"
"I dont know honestly, Saturn sent me the ultrasound pictures though!" Eclipse eagerly pulled up the pictures he saved to his device. They were very outdated now, from when Saturn first transfered ships.
Mike looked between the pictures and at Eclipse with pure confusion. He waved a hand over Eclipses body, then at the pictures of honestly just a blob.
"Impossible- you dont have dna!"
"Saturn said something about asexual reproduction?" He shrugged again, not letting Mike's words hit that sensitive nerve in him. Smiling at the pictures, that's him baby. Even if it didn't have his DNA, it was his in spirit.
"I- does anyone else know?"
"Not yet- wanted to wait for their return. Apparently Saturns already showing a lot so we wouldn't be able to keep it a secret then."
"Just dont tell Claudia, she has a weird thing about babies" Mike muttered. A look crossing his face, something nearly like guilt but not quite.